Payments to owners in Sweden
It has now been more than two years since Fisker was on the brink of collapse and filed for bankruptcy. At one time, this electric vehicle manufacturer was considered promising, but now the bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden and Norway have been completed. Car owners will finally receive payouts, but they will be significantly smaller than expected.
According to local media, the total value of Fisker’s Swedish assets is about 6 million Swedish kronor ($632,000). Car owners who agree to the settlement will share 2.5 million kronor ($263,000) after priority creditors receive their payouts. Thus, each owner will receive approximately 41,000 kronor ($4,300).
Initially, Fisker Ocean owners sought compensation of 147,800 kronor ($15,500) per person. This amount was supposed to cover warranty obligations, undelivered spare parts, and other claims. The current payout is less than a third of what they expected, but it is still better than nothing.
Lawyers will receive more than owners
As is often the case in such legal proceedings, lawyers will take more than the affected owners. According to Carup, their fees amounted to 3.4 million kronor ($356,000).
Norwegian debts and the role of Magna Steyr
In Norway, Fisker’s local debts reached 620 million Norwegian kroner ($66.33 million). Of this, 457 million kroner ($48.8 million) was owed to Magna Steyr, which had been producing the fully electric SUV.
Why Fisker again failed to stay afloat
Although the Fisker Ocean had the makings of a decent car, it did not live up to expectations, and financial problems ultimately destroyed the company. Building a successful car brand is extremely difficult, and Henrik Fisker learned this for the second time. In 2013, his first automotive project, Fisker Automotive, also went bankrupt, which put an end to the Karma plug-in hybrid.
The collapse of Fisker Inc in 2024 left thousands of Ocean owners in limbo. A significant portion of the cars are still on the roads thanks to the Fisker Owners Association community, which creates repair guides by the owners themselves. In addition, the electric SUV continues to receive periodic software updates after New York-based company American Lease acquired its software code in 2024.
Notably, even after the bankruptcy proceedings have concluded, owners remain vulnerable. The Fisker story is a reminder that even the most high-profile startups in the electric vehicle industry can disappear just as quickly as they appeared. At the same time, the emergence of an owner community and the acquisition of the code by a third-party company give the Ocean a chance to survive, although there is no longer full manufacturer support.